MEMDRIAJL 

OF 

MISSB.L.DIX 


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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

MEMORIAL 


or 


X) 


MISS  D.   L.  DIX, 


IN  RELATION  TO  THE  ILLINOIS  PENITENTIARY 


FEBRUARYS,  1847. 
Laid  on  the  table  and  3,0UJ  copies  ordered  to  be  printed. 


To  the  Honorable,  ihz  General  Assembly  of  the  Slate  of  Illinois. 

Gentlemen:  The  reasonable  claims  of  humanity,  not  less  than  the  requisi- 
tions of  justice,  require  that  you  sliould  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  system 
on  which  the  State  Penitentiary  is  establisiied;  its  general  organization;  its  advan- 
tages, if  indeed  it  possess  any;  and  its  defects,  as  well  of  location  as  of  archi- 
tectural arrangements  and  daiiy  discipline.  1  believe  that  I  can  represent  those 
to  you  impartially.  I  have  confidence,  that,  for  palpable  cirors,  you  -will  not  de- 
lay to  search  out  and  applj-  a  remedy;  and  I  therefore  lake  the  liberty  of  solicit- 
ing your  attention  to  the  actual  condilion  ol  the  State  Penitentiary  at  Alton;  to 
the  system  which  has  most  unfortunately  been  adopted  for  tiie  disposition  of  con- 
vict labor;  as  also  to  the  daily  discipline,  and  its  inlluences  in  this  priscn;  annual- 
ly becoming  more  populous,  and  which  will  probably  more  than  triple  its  inmates 
in  a  few  years.  Your  vast  extent  of  territory,  now  promising  more  rapid  setlle- 
mei.t,  insures  this  result.  I  think  you  will  acknowledge  the  wisdom,  not  only  of 
guarding  the  present,  but  of  taking  a  prospective  view  ol"  this  serious  question. 

Within  the  last  eight  months,  1  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  citizens  of  Illi- 
nois individually,  and  of  the  state  of  society  in  general,  and  I  entertain  no  ap- 
prehension that  the  disinterested  and  impartial  deliberations  of  her  Represcnta- 
tive.^  concluded  by  efficient  legislation,  will  not  be  sanctioned  by  all  who  re- 
gard the  well-being  ol  communities,  and  the  honor  of  the  State;  as  well  as  looking 
higher,  owning  their  obligations  to  employ  all  consistent  measures  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  guilty  from  an  evil  and  criminal,  to  an  amended  liJe.     ,,.--' 

There  is  certainly  no  substantial  cause  why  the  State  prison  of  Illinois  should 
hold  so  low  a  rank,  compared  wilh  many  State  prisons  in  the  Union; — those  of 
Georgia,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Connccticul  and  Ohio,  for  example:  and  if  1  do 
not  cite  the  best  prison,  as  viewed  under  all  aspects,  the  Eastern  Penitenliary,  in 
Pennsylvania,  it  is  because  I  would,  lor  the  present,  be  almost  Avell  satisfied  to 
see  this  take  a  respectable  place  near  the  tirst  named,  and  under  a  system  which, 


V 


nccordinc:  to  my  conviclions,  is  but  secondary  in  procuring  the  results  at  which 
we  should  aim  in  the  imprisonment  of  criminals,  viz:  the  security  ol"  sociely, 
and  more  e><peci;illy  the  refurmuiion  of  the  convict. 

It  cannot  be,  that  the  rising  Slate  of  Illinois  will  vohintarily  refuse  to  adopt  the 
improvements  introduced  of  late  years,  in  the  construction  of  j)risons,and  in  the 
moral  discipline  of  prisoners,  while  almost  the  whole  civilized  world  is  thinking 
and  legislating  upon  these  great  questions  ;  and  which  allect  the  whole  aspect  of 
society  inhnitely  more  than  is  now  comprehended  by  those  who  rule,  and  those 
who  are  ruled. 

Eclbre  entering  specially  upon  the  affairs  of  the  prison  at  Alton,  it  is  but  jus- 
tice to  observe,  that  my  remarks  in  no  wise  point  censuringly  to  the  Lessees  of 
the  prison,  or  to  any  of  the  officers  employed  therein.  These  are  not  at  all,  in 
the  first  instance,  accountable,  either  lor  the  defects  of  the  system,  or  for  those 
of  daily  discipline:  for,  to  require  of  officers,  results,  the  means  for  carrying  out 
which  are  not  supplied,  would  be  an  absurdity,  illustrating  both  weakness  and 
injustice  in  the  State  Government. 

I  first  visited  the  prison  at  Alton,  in  May,  1846;  and,  at  that  season,  as  since, 
have  been  received  by  all  the  officers  on  the  grounds,  with  civility  and  respect. 
My  many  inquiries  have  been  responded  to  with  courtesy,  and  niy  objects  as  a 
criticising  visitor,  have  been  materially  aided  and  advanced. 

State  officers,  as  ^Vardens  and  their  Deputies,  or  Lessees  and  their  Clerks,  will 
be  very  likely  to  conform  to  whatever  system  is  established  by  law,  and  to  such 
details  in  discipline  as  sliall  be  prescribed  by  the  Legislature,  or  the  Inspectors  by 
the  Executive  appointed.  Therelbre,  it  is  to  this  body,  the  Representatives  of 
the  people,  that  we  arc  first  to  look  for  an  enlightened  and  carefully  devised  sys- 
tem of  Prison  Discipline. 

The  oflice  of  a  Representative  of  many  minds,  involves  very  grave  and  high 
responsibilities.  The  peace,  the  prosperity,  the  honor  of  States,  depend  upon 
the  intelligence  and  fidelity  with  which  these  duties,  in  their  various  forms  of  ob- 
ligation, are  discharged.  To  lill,  in  an  upright,  manly  and  honest  manner,  a  seat 
in  the  halls  of  the  Capitol,  is  no  sinecure.  Hoping  that  the  respectable  and  nu- 
merous Assembly  now  appealed  to,  view  their  obligations  in  a  clear  light,  I  have 
lelt  encouraged  to  make  representations,  and  offer  suggestions,  which  otherwise 
I  might  not  have  attempted. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  objection  advanced  agains^t  the  prison  at  Alton,  is  its 
ill-chosen  location;  than  which,  both  in  view  of  liealth  and  convenient  internal 
arrangements,  none  could  be  worse.  Instead  of  constructing  and  inclosing  this 
prison  upon  the  table  land,  which  extends  back  from  the  crest  of  thcblulFs,  or  in- 
closing a  sufficiently  open  area  on  the  level  below,  the  Commissioner  which  ex- 
ecuted the  trust  bestowed  by  the  State,  of  locating  the  prison  upon  the  ten  acres 
given  to  Government  by  Mr. Russell,  for  this  purpose,  caused  to  be  inclosed  a  space 
upon  the  abrupt,  nay,  precipitous  descent  of  the  bluff  cast;  a  portion  of  the  prison- 
buildings  on  the  west  being  erected  as  substitutes  for  part  of  the  inclosing  wall, 
and  absolutely  on  the  edge  of  the  descent;  so  much  of  the  space  within,  being 
levelled,  excavated,  or  filled  up,  as  might  serve  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the 
same.  The  other  buildings  put  up  from  time  to  time,  now  crowd  the  small  area, 
impeding  at  once  the  business  of  the  prison,  obstructing  the  passages,  and  threat- 
ening the  health  of  all  who  occupy  the  premises,  by  the  exclusion  of  a  free  cir- 
culation of  air.  As  for  the  buildings,  I  have  never,  in  any  prison,  save  the  old 
Indiana  prison  at  Jeffersonville,  seen  any  so  ill-contrived,  ill-built,  and  ill- 
suited  for  the  purposes  they  were  to  subserve.  The  materials  and  work  are  infe- 
rior in  quality  and  kind.  In  seasons  of  rain,  and  in  winter,  the  flow  of  water, 
and  falls  of  snow,  over  the  inclined  surface,  which  seems  never  to  have  been  gra- 
ded or  McAdamized,  produces  a  depth  of  mud,  through  which,  as  I  can  fully  testify 


it  is  in  nowise  easy  to  make  way;  or  an  ill-covered  foot-way,  ascending  or  de- 
scending, which  it  is  diiiicult,  and  sometimes  even  perilous,  to  traverse.  As 
there  are  no  suflicient  drains  and  sluice-ways,  the  water  makes  passages  in  small 
streams,  or  by  slower  and  often  more  destructive  percolations,  beneath  the  foun- 
dations of  the  buildings,  and  the  base  of  the  lofty  eastern  wall;  on  the  one  hand 
rendering  the  shops  damp  and  wet,  and  on  the  other  steadily  advancing  the  pro- 
cess of  undermining  the  most  expensive,  because  necessarily  the  highest  portion 
of  the  inclosing  wall,  which  here  ascends  above  thirty  feet. 

The  second  prominent  defect  of  this  prison,  is,  the  confined  limits  within  the 
walls,  viz:  one  acre  and  five-sixths,  bearing  most  disadvantageously  upon  all  bu- 
siness to  be  carried  on  within  the  same,  and  prospectively  threatening  the  health, 
or  ratlier  insuring  the  ill-health,  of  all  the  inmates.  I'he  entire  prison  inclo- 
sure  is  compassed  by  a  wall,  measuring  320  feet  by  290.  This  area,  which  as 
before  stated,  occupies,  not  a  level,  but  a  precipitous  declivity,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing named  buildings,  most  of  which  require  either  repairs,  additions,  or  en- 
tire replacement:  1st.  Guard  house;  2d,  Warden's  dwelling,,  a  kitchen  beyond 
and  a  smoke  house,  in  all  extending  seventy-six  feet;  3d,  Lodging  prison,  sixty 
seven  by  forty-four  outside  the  walls;  4th,  Dining  room  and  cook  room,  one 
hundred  feet  by  twent^'-five;  5th,  Tailor's  shop,  (frame,)  adjacent  to  the  pre- 
ceding, sixteen  feet  by  twelve;  6th,  Stable,  thirty  feet  beyond  No.  5 — measur- 
ing sixteen  feet  by  forty;  7th,  Ropo  walk,  sixty-seven  feet  -below  the  dining 
room,  is  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  by  twenty-five;  8th,  Wagon  and  smith  shops, 
thirty-seven  feet  by  thirty-seven  feet;  9th,  Hemp  factory,  thirty-four  feet  by 
forty-four;  lOth^  Boiler  rooms,  (engine?)  entry  and  dry  house,  thirty  feet  by 
thirty;  llih,  Pole  house,  thirty-one  feet  by  fifty;  12th,  Office,  twenty-one  feet  by 
thirteen;  13th,  Inclosed  wagon  way,  thirty-six  feet  by  sixteen;  I4lh,  Cooper 
shop  on  the  south  wall,  ninety -four  feet  by  twenty-five;  15th,  On  the  eastern 
wall,  do.  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  by  twenty-five;  16th,  Machine  shop, 
between  hemp  factory  and  cooper  shop,  thirty-three  feet  by  thirty-five;  17th,  The 
well.  Most  of  the  remaining  space  is  necessarily  often  occupied  by  the  coarse 
and  bulky  materials  employed  in  the  different  factories,  and  the  completed  works 
wrought  from  those  materials,  as  barrels,  wagons,  &c.    There,  too,  in  the  crowded 

^^pace,  we  find  imperfect  drainage,  obstructed  circulation  of  air,  and  accumulat- 
ing vegetable  substances  quickened  into  deleterious  fermentation  by  the  wetness 
of  the  place,  for  months  every  year;  and  for  these  obvious  present  and  threaten- 
ing evils,  no  remedy  is  applied. 

^y^  The  Legislature  of  1833,  governed  by  a  somewhat  unseasonable  spirit  of  econ- 
omizing for  the  present,  and  thus  burthening  the  fuhire,  authorized- the  Inspectors 
to  cause  "  to  be  laid  oft",  lots  for  stores  and  dwelling-houses,  with  intersecting 
streets,  and  to  make  sale  of  the  same  at  public  vendue;"  and  in  conclusion,  to 
"  apply  the  proceeds  to  the  construction  of  a  substantial  wall,*  and  work-shops 
within  the  same  of  such  size  and  dimensions  as  they  might  think  most  advanta- 
geous!" This  was  done;  and  now,  when  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  ten  acres 
given  to  the  State,  whereon  to  construct  a  prison,  has  been  sold  to  individuals,  (it 
is  true,  by  the  consent  of  the  donor,)  we  hear  of  a  proposition  to  purchase  land 
at  an  advanced  price  for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  the  area,  and  affording  space 
for  the  re-construction  of  shops,  &c.  One  thing  is  certain  ;  if  the  prison  be  per- 
manently established  at  Alton,  this  must  be  done:  for,  notwithstanding  the  In- 
spectors in  their  Report  of  1844,  December,  declare  "that  they  are  happy  to 
state,  that  the  number  of  convicts  is  gradually  decreasing,  and  it  is  probable,  from 
present  appearances,  that  no  furiher  addition  of  cells  will  be  needed,  at  least  be- 
fore the  next  regular  session  of  the  Legislature,"  we  find  that  the  hopes  of  these 


A  portioD  of  this  baa  twice  or  thrice  fallen ! 

1 0033 1  5 


^J 


gentlemen  havo  not  been  realizoJ.  The  niimberof  convicts  has  constantly  ex- 
ceeded the  number  of  cells;  and  it  is  evident  that  the  prison  population  will  be 
continually  increased,  as  the  State  itsell"  gain  inhabitants,  and  villages  grow  in- 
to towns,  and  towns  arc  absorbed  into  cities.  Illinois  possesses  vast  internal 
resources,  and  is  nut  destined  to  become  a  waste  wilderness;  and  we  no  where 
find  that  prisons  become  less  necessary,  or  less  crowded,  as  the  tide  of  busi- 
ness and  prosperity  abr^ud  rises.  A  new  and  higher  order  of  society  must  ex- 
ist before  prisons  can  be  safel)'  abolished. 

Uf  the  work  shops  in  general,  one  may  sum  up  the  condition  in  {&\\  words: 
They  all  are,  except  the  hemp  factory,  and  tlut  has  recently  been   partially  de- 
Rtroyctl  by  fire,  either  temporarily   thrown  up,  out  of  repair,  or  inconvenient  in 
V^ocaliun  or  construction.     'Ihat  which  demands  earliest  attention,  appears  to  be 
the   cooper  shop.     Complaints  were  made   in  1840-'4l,    of  the   want  of  suita- 
ble workshops,  stock,  &c.     In  1842-M3,  the  same  deficiencies  are  represented, 
and  a  bill  summed  up,  of  $242  00,  for  reconstructing  the  cooper  shop.     In  1844, 
the  Inspectors  state,    that   "the  principal  workshop  being  burned  in  the  f^pring 
of  1843,  and  it  being  the  property  of  the  State,"    they  thought  it  better  that  so 
important  a   building  should   be  put  up  in  a.  permaneni,  rather  than  a  temporary 
manner.     "V/c,  consequently,  contracted  with  the  Lessee,  for  a  shop  to  be  built 
of  stone,  extending  the  length  of  the  eastern  wall,"    (270  feet.)    "  and  a  part  of 
the  south,"  (94  feet  about,)  '■  to  be  well  inclosed,  and    partition  walls  running 
across  at  convenietit  intervals, -so  as    to  separate  the   convicts  from   each  other 
when  at  work.     This  building  is  completed,  and  at  a  cost,  as  per  bills  rendered, 
of  $1,939  15."     ''The  above  work  was  done  under  the  immediate  direction  and 
supervision  of  the  Inspectors,   and  completed  in  a  substantial  and    workmanlike 
maimer."     Let  us  refer   for  the  exce'lence  of  this  work,  to  the  next  following 
biennial  report,  1845-'46;and  which  corresponds  w-ith  my  own  observations: — 
"We  would  call  your  attention  to  the  workshops    (cooper  shv.p,)  which  as  now 
situated,  are  both  uncomfortable  and  unsafe,    being  attached   to  the  outside  wall 
of  the  prison,  and  necessarily  much  lower  than  the  wall,  leaving  the  shops  con- 
tinually filled  with  smoke,  and  from  the  flatness  of  the  roof,  entirely  unfit  for  use 
in  wet  weather;  also  the  continual  use  of    tires  in  the  cooper  shops,   against  the 
wall,  (that   is  the    inclosing  wall, — not  of  the  shops  in  the  lirst  instance,  but  of 
the  premises,)    on   the   east,  will,  in  a  very  short  time,  ruin  the  wall;  so  that, 
should  it  not  fall  of  its  own  weight,  (being  30  feet  high,)   it  will  very  easily  be 
broke  through;  and  though  the  roofs  are  low,  they  are  of  sufficient  height  lo  leave 
it  very  easy  to  scale   the  walls."     "We  recommend  that  the  work  shops  be  re- 
moved from  the  walls."     It  is  really  unfortunate,  that,  season  after  season,  year 
after  year,  works  in  this  prison  should    be  put  up  and   pulled   down  with  such 
utter  disregard  to  method,  commodious  plans,  security,  permanence  and  exjiense. 
I  proceed  to  review  the  cost,  and  the  value,  as  well  as  the  present  condition  of 
the  inclosing  walls,  which  are  of  irregular  height  and  thickness,  and  on  all  sides 
require,  if  the  prison  is  to  be  permanently  located  here,  large  outlays  for  repairs, 
&c.     In  1833,  the  Inspectors  were  autliorized  to  build  a  suhsianiial  wall  round 
the  Penitentiary-     This  was  done,  so  I'ar  as  raising  a  wall,  but  it  has  never,  with 
all  its  repairs  and  abutments,  been  a  substantial  wall.     From  first  to  last,  it  has 
never  rested  on  a  suitable  foundation.     The  situation  of  the  grounds  render  this 
a  dilficiilt  worl:;  but  it  has  certainly  proved  a  very  weak  oiie.     In  1838,  an  ac- 
count was  rendered  for  "  digging  a  diicli  and  banking  a ir a inst  m-yAn  wall  ovtside.'''' 
The  Report  of  1840-''4l,  presents,  that  "  another  improvement  is  mucli  needed 
Jbr  the  safekeeping  of  the  convicts,  as  well  as  the  durability  of  the  walls:  it  is  to 
build  them  higher,  and  to  surmount  them  with  hewn  stone  caps,  to  protect  tliem 
in  sotne  measure  from  the  weather.     This  m;iy  he  done  by  the  addition  of  a  few 
feet  of  stone  wall,  or  by  excavating  the  earth  within  the  wall,  down  to  the  rocks 


on  wliich  tliej'  arc  fouiuled."  "The  west  ha'f  of  the  north  wall,  and  the  ivholt 
of  the  west  wall,  are  now  so  low,  that  they  can  be  easily  scaled;  bat  the  top  of 
the  ichol  wall  is  in  such  a  condition,  that  the  water  which  falls  upon  it,  instead 
of  ruiininij  olF,  penetrates  in  any  direction  through  it,  and  Irequcnlly  finds  its 
way  out  at  the  surl'ace  of  the  ground;  thus  washing  out  the  mortar  and  weak- 
ening it  materially."  The  Keport  lor  lS42-'43,  shows  a  charge  loliie  State  lor 
building  an  abutment  to  support  the  wall,  $19  50:  also  for  rebuilding  a  large 
breach  in  the  wall,  viz:  274  perch,  $445  25;  also  $430  67,  for  replucinEr  coop- 
er shops,  crushed  by  the  falling  wall.[!]  A  bill  for  extra  guards,  employed 
wdiile  repairs  were  carried  on,  follows  the  above,  of  $1,&G0  Oo.  In  1S44,  the 
Inspectors  state,  that  "repairs  are  necessary  to  preserve  aiyJstreiigi/un  the  piis-cn 
and  walls;"  also,  the  ivest  wall  being  in  danger  of  ialling,  an  outlay  was  made 
to  preserve  the  same,  ol'$26(J  15.  In  conclus^ion,  December,  Ib-iu,  "  aboiit  50 
feet  of  the  west  wall  fell  to  the  ground,"  and  an  equal  measure  is  now  tottering  upon 
its  Ibundations.  A  portion  of  the  south  wall  is  yielding,  and  I  am  told  it  must  be 
supported  by  raising  abutments  within  the  premises.  The  east  v.ali  has  already 
been  shown  to  stand  insecurely.  It  is  something  more  than  four  ftet  thick  at 
base;  three  or  a  little  over  at  top,  and  is  thirty  feet  high.  It  is  badly  bu:It,  ol  sniall 
stone,  a  thin  lace  on  either  side,  tilled  in  with  rubbish  and  mortar.  Tlie  top  of 
this  having  never  been  protected  by  roofing  or  capping,  has  received,  i-ntl  con- 
tinues to  receive,  injury  from  the  rains,  which  falling.  How  into  the  central  in- 
terstices, and  thus  steadily  aid  causes  belbre  specified  in  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. 

I  have  been  thus  explicit  in  showing  the  defects  of  the  Peni'entiary,  believing 
that  no  outlay  of  money  can  coiivert  t  is  prison  into  a  secure,  comviodious,  or  du- 
rable establishment.     It  may  receive  repairs  and  additions;  but  these,  in  tlie  very 
nature  of  things,  where,  from  the  first  mistakes,  ha've  been  pcrpclnated,  and  so 
very  little  faithfully  accomplished  with  a  view  to  permanent  duration,    w  11  only 
be  still    succeeded  by  repairs  and  additions.'    The  plan,  if  indeed  any  plan  has 
ever  existed,  is  defective  beyond  comparison.     I  see  but  one  rcm.edy  and  mi  ney 
saving  resource.     It  is  to  make  sale,  as  speedily  as  possible,  of  this    Stale  pro- 
perty, and  with  the  proceeds,  purchase  and  construct  a  new  prison,    eilhir  in 
Alton,   or  elsewhere;  and  so  construct  it,  that  there  will  be  no  occasion  to  sink 
funds  in   building  and  rebuilding,  year  following  year.     Should  you  tpprcpriate 
the  rents  for  the  ensuing  six  years  to  repairs  and  additions,  and   be  assured  of  a 
discreet  application  of  the  same,  you  would  not,  and  could  not,  at  the  end  of  that 
time,  have  an    institution  in    good    condition.     The  lodging  prison  occupies  the 
highest  ground  within  the   inclosure,  or  rather  it  stands  upon  the  extreme  lin)its, 
the  western   wall   of  the  shell,  or  inclosing  building  v,-hich  covers  the  cells,  be- 
ing a  substitute    for  a   suitable  wall  west,   and    irum  which   (l:e  prison   prcper 
should  be  removed.     The  outer  walls  of  the   lodging  prison  measure  exteriorly 
67  feet  by   44.     The  area  within,  between  the  walls  and  the  cells,  is  inciunber- 
ed  with  boxes  containing  the  State  arms.     These,  I  was  told,  arc  becoming  use- 
less for  want  of  care.     The  central  ])risons,  or  the  cells,  are  built  ol"  stoiie,  ele- 
vated four   stories;  22  cells  on  each  iloor,  11  cells  in  a  row — that  is,  44   on  each 
side,  back  to  back;  the  rear  walls  of  the  cells  on  one  side,  being  built  into  those 
on  the  reverse    side.     The   successive  stories  are  reached  over  llights  cf  steps 
or  stairs,  terminating  on  narrow  galleries;  which,  however  are  ofsulHcient  width 
to  answer  daily  use.    The  dimensions  of  the  cells  vr.ry  somewhat,  according  to 
the  thickness  of  the  separating  walls,  being  from  three  feet  three  inc-hcs  to  iliree 
feet  six  inches  wide,  by  nearly  seven  long  in  the  clear,  and  seven  high,  not  arch- 
ed.    The  doors  of  each  cell  are  six  feet  by  one  foot  five-sixths. 


The  dimensions  of  the*e  cells  do  not  vary  essentially  from  those  in  mos  prison, 
whicli  are  constnicted  on  the  JIubnrn  plan,  cxoeptincfthat  prison  itself,  he  celb 
Z-  whicli  are  7  1-2  feet  lontr,  3  feet  8  inches  wide,  and  7  cet  high.  Bn  it  may 
be  Ucrvcd  that  the  ventilation  in  «// the  prisons  on  this  p  an  is  -  f /- JJ^;  ^^"^ 
the  disadvantages  growing  ont  of  this  defeot  so  serious,  affecting  the  health  ot  the 
prisoners,  ^^cc^that  they  are  fast  falling  into  disrepute  ;  and  I  have,  within  two 
years,  he^rd  p  opositions  from  various  sources,  to  enlarge  the  cells,  (but  no  to 
fnuliiply  the  iceipants  as  here,  and  in  Indiana  and  ^--^'\f  > ')-;;'  ^^^^^^,1 
should  be  at  great  cost  to  the  States  owning  such  prisons.  But  80  of  the  bb  ce  U 
have  ever  been  completed,  and  6  of  the  80  are  too  insecure  for  the  safe  custody 

"^ThH^^'k'  seems   to  have  been  executed  in  a  very  unworkmanlike  manner, 
and  with  but  little  reference  to  securily  or  duraiion,  as  I  will  proceed  to  show. 
The  dimensions  of  the  lodging  cells  require,  that,  lor  ^^e  preservation  of  health 
and  a  tolerable  degree  of  comfort,  where  so  many  causes  exist  for  destroying  the 
who  esome  qualities  of  the  atmosphere,  great   care  should  be  taken  to  secure  a 
con>tant  and\horough  ventilation.     The  air  flues  in  the  rear  wa  Is  of  the  cells  m 
this  prison  are  quite  useless,  and  must  have  been  so  from  the    irs   ;  the    ma.on 
work  having  been  so  clumsilv  done  that  the  passages  are  con.pletcly  obstructed 
To  prove  the  inutility  of  the'se,  I  held  a  lighted    lamp  to  the   apertures,  which 
are  all  very  small;  and  though  I  passed  into  at  least  one-turd  of  the  cells  for 
this  purpose,  I  did  not  find  in  a  single  instance,    the  flame  disturbed    nor  could 
any  curr^ent  of  air  be  perceived.     The  investigating  committee,  (see  Repor  s  of 
vessioa   l8.38-'39,)    declare    that    -the  cells,  from  want  ol  suflicient  ventilation, 
^reextrencly  uncomfortahU  and  nnhe^llhy;-\n  summer  the  water  trickles  down 
the  sides  of  them,"  (from  defects  in  the  inclosing  roof  and  walls,)  '-and  in  w  ntcr 
they  are  coated   with    ice !"      The  Report  of  the   present  session   ^hows   that 
thoLh  there  are  88  cells  now  in  all,  but  80  of  them   are  avaiohle,   the  other  8 
havinc  never  been  floored  over^  and,  I  may  add,  that  a  careful  ex.m.nation  will 
reveaf  such  defects  in  the  floors  of  others,  &c.,  that  the   prison  may  be  declared 
insecure,  even  now,  when  year  after  year,  repairs  have  been  demanded,  and  ad- 
ditions  Vo  cells  required.     This  year's  Report  also  declares   that   "the  locU   of 
the  cells,  as  a  general  thing,   are  of  cast  iron,   tender  and  insecure  for  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  are  used.     In  one  or  two  instances,  these  have  been  sever- 
l\  of  them  opened  with  a  single  key."     Of  these    ocks,  38  cannot  have  been  m 
use  before  1^39.     See  Report  of  1840-'4l ,  charged  38  locks  at  ^\  2j  each.     It 
does  not  seem  necessary  to  adduce  additional  illustrations  of  the  msecunlij,  insuf- 
ficiency and  bad  construction  of  the  lodging  prison.  ,.        r«i        T, 
I  proceed  to  show  the  necessity  for  additional  cells  for  the  reception  of  the  con- 
vict^    It  is  to  sav  the  least,  most  unfortunate,  that,  in  the  location  and  construc- 
tion of  this  prison,  no  prospective  views  have  been  taken  respecting  the  wants 
of  the  State,  as  regards  fit  provision  for  the  detention  and  care  of  convicts      1  he 
Report  of  Inspectors,  183S-'39,  shows  that  they  "  now  have  5b  cells,      3.  hav- 
ing been  addell  to  the  24  previously  built,  "  of  like  materials  and  workmanship 
with  those  alreadv  erected;  also  the  wnlls  and  mof  of  the  prison  house  were  ex- 
tended so  as  to  inclose  the  same."     The  Inspectors  eo  on  to  remark,     that  it  i. 
vorv  probable,  that,  betbre  the  next  tw(.  years  end,  they  xcxll  ad  be  occupied.  — 
Th^tthis  supposition  was  verified,  is   shown  in  the  Report  of  the  ^^'^^^rn^ice 
and  that  of  the  Inspectors,  the  following  session,    IH^O-Ml       The  first   state* 
that  while  there  are  .%  cells,  the  number  of  convicts  is  89;  this  nun.beris  hke- 
Iv  to  increase  in  a  ratio  that  requires  the  immediate  enlargement  of  tlie  Feniten- 
tLv.  and  an  increase  of  cells,  and  they  urge,  with  sound  arguments,  the  eredion 
of  at  least  -  91  additional  cells,"  &c.     It  may  be  well  to  quote  what  the  lii<pec- 
'      tors  set  forth:  -There  are  now,  December,  1840,  5G  cells  of  a  size  barehj  sujficmA 


for  the  accommodation  of  the  convicts;  and  these  are  now  90;  and  the  number 
increasing:,  by  a  ratio  that  will  more  than  double  this  number  belbre  anotiier  reg- 
ular session  ol'  the  Legislature.  Oi'  the  o4  convicts  now  in  excess,  some,  when 
it  will  possibly  do,  are  placed  two  in  a  cell,  some  are  chained  to  the  walls  in  the 
passages  of  the  prison,  and  others  confined  in  the  cellars!"  "The  practice  of 
doubling  occupants  in  cells,  is  very  unhealthy,  and  ought  not  to  be  permitted;  and 
■conliuing  in  the  passages  and  cellars,  facilitates  their  escape,  and  endangers  the 
lives  of  the  warden  and  his  family."  "  In  our  opinion,  the  number  of  cells  should, 
in  tlie  two  succeeding  years,  be  increased  to  'jt  least  two  hundred;  and  it  will 
be  cheaper  to  do  it  in  one  job,"  (and  it  miglit  have  been  added,  more  durable  and 
more  secure,)  "than  by  piece  meal."  The  Committee  on  the  Penitentiary, 
1842-'43,  remark,  "that,  from  the  Report  of  the  Inspectors  to  the  present  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  it  appears  that  there  are  not  cells  for  one  hu/fthe  convicts  confined 
in  the  prison  at  the  present  time;  that  hvo  are  put  together  in  each  cell,  and  that 
these  were  constructed  tor  the  accommodation  of  one  only;  the  remainder,  consist- 
ing of  twenty  or  more,  are  confined  in  a  mass,  in  the  cellar  of  the  prison,  in  oth- 
er words,  in  the  cellar  of  the  warden's  dwelling,  directly  beneath  the  family 
lodging  rooms;  said  cellar  being  13  feet  by  27;  the  same  which  at  present  is  con- 
verted into  a  hospital  for  the  sick  ! 

The  Committee  continue,  fallowing  some  judicious  remarks:  "  And  we  can- 
not but  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  this  Legislature  will  not  be  justified  in  per- 
mitting such  a  state  of  things  to  continue.  An  appropriation  must  be  made  to 
erect  more  cells,  or  the  mode  of  punishing  oflfenders  must  be  changed.''''  "  The 
objects  of  the  Penitentiary  are  understood  to  be  two-fold;  the  reform  of  the  of- 
fender and  the  safety  of  society;  but  under  such  a  state  of  things  as  exists  in  our 
Penitentiary,  neither  can  reasonably  be  expected.  A  very  large  portion  of  tljc 
convicts  sent  to  our  Penitentiary,  are  in  a  short  time  let  loose  again  upon  society. 
By  the  Report  of  the  Inspectors,  we  find  that,  during  the  last  two  years,  ninety- 
Tiine  convicts  were  discharged  from  their  confinement,  having  served  out  the 
time  for  which  they  were  sentenced,  or  having  received  pardon  through  the 
■clemency  of  the  Lxecutive.  It  must,  therefore,  be  apparent  to  every  one,  that 
unless  there  is  a  reform  wrought  in  the  convict,  there  can  be  no  protection  to  so- 
<  ciety;  for  we  may  be  assured  that  the  Penitentiary  will  be  to  the  convict  a  school 
of  reform,  or  of  vice  and  iniquity;  and  if  of  the  latter,  the  discharged  convict 
■enters  again  into  society,  a  much  more  dangerous  man  than  when  sentenced  to 
the  Penitentiary;  having  been  schooled  in  ^  ice  and  iniquity  by  the  free  inter- 
course he  lias  had  with  other  criminals  while  in  confinement;  and  such  results 
can  only  be  prevented  by  having  separate  cells  for  each  convict,  and  all  conversa- 
tion between  them,  except  in  relation  to  their  labor,  be  strictly  forbidden,  and  if 
possible,  wholly  prevented."  A  report  so  honorable  to  the  sentlemen  who  drew 
it  up,  so  creditable  to  the  State,  so  just  in  its  views,  reachin-r  to  the  security  of 
society  and  the  real  good  of  the  convict,  ought  not  to  be  forgotten. 

But  the  wise  opinions  of  both  inspectors  and  committees,  were  not  regarded. 
An  insufficient  number  of  cells  has  continued  to  mar  discipline,  and  counteract 
wholesome  restraints.  But  thirty-two  cells  were  added,  and  these  at  a  cost  of 
$8,788  50;  and,  as  remarked  on  the  first  pages  of  this  communication,  the  In- 
spectors in  1844,  reported  their  sufficiency,  on  the  singular  ground  of  a  hoped 
for  decrease  in  the  number  of  convicts.  We  now  arrive  at  the  latest  Report. 
viz:  that  for  184.5-'4t).  The  first  recommendation  is,  as  usual,  the  extension 
of  the  cells;  and  the  well  known  fact  is  repeated,  that  "of  the  88  cells,  but  SO 
are  fit  for  occupation,  the  others  never  having  been  floored  over."  The  Inspec- 
tors, singularly  enough,  do  not  comment  on  the  exceeding  evil  of  placing /ifo 
convicts  in  a  space  3  1-2  feet  by  6  1-2  or  7;  but  remark,  that,  in  any  emergencv, 
"  not  more  than  two  prisoners  can  be  put  in  one  cell,  and  not  more  than  cne 


with  safety."     To   me,   it  seems   there  are  many  objections,   obvious  enough, 
beside  endangering  the  sa'e  keeping  ol'  the  convicts  and  the  lives  ol'  the  guards. 

Dr.  Lieber,  wliose  sound  philo^^ophlcal  views  entitle  his  opinions  to  respectful 
consideration,  writes:  "  ll"  you  bring  two  evil  disposed  pers:)ns,  especially  two 
individuals  whose  presence  in  the  prisun  points  out  crime  as  a  prominent  fea- 
ture in  their  life,  inclose  contact,  and  if  in  boll),  there  was  before  the  contact, 
a  certain  and  ecjual  degree  of  criminality,  this  criminality  will  h.ave  greatly  in- 
creased after  the  contact;  because  they,  as  all  other  men,  good  or  bad,  will  pro- 
pel each  other  in  that  line  which  is  characteristically  their  own. 

"  The  prisoner  shows  to  his  fellow  ])risoncr,  by  the  fact  that  they  meet  in  tliat 
place,  that  cr-ime  has  brought  him  there.  As  criminals  they  meet,  and  as  crimi- 
nals they  commune  with  one  another,  and  corrupt  one  another." 

It  is  added,  "the  least  jjossible  nuuibcr  of  new  cells  now  needed,  is  48,  which 
would  make  in  all,  13G;  being  less  than  the  whole  number  of  j)risoners  that  have 
been  conlincd  here  already."  But  why  not  pro^■ide  for  at  least  as  many  convicts 
as  may  be  expected  to  swell  the  population  of  the  prison  for  the  two  years  to 
come,  at  least?  The  iact  is,  suppose  these  and  no  more  to  be  built — what  then? 
At  your  very  next  session,  the  first  ini])ortant  clause  of  the  biennial  Report  will 
show  "  too  tew  cells."  I  found  at  the  prison,  in  May,  184(j,  128 convicts.  In 
July  the  number  was  greater ;  in  December,  notwithstanding  a  diminution  of 
the  old  set,  by  expiration  of  sentences,  deaths,  escapes  and  pardons,  still  a  larger 
number  remaining,  viz:  135.  Permit  me  to  ask,  is  it  wise,  is  it  good  economy, 
to  make  up  such  a  patch  work  prison?  Small  biennial  additions,  finished  only  to 
reveal  how  inadequate  they  are  for  the  positive  necessities  of  the  Institution? 
The  cost  of  breaking  down  and  replacing  the  end  wall  of  the  inclosing  building; 
of  removing  the  inclosing  wall  west;  of  opening  the  roof,  8i.c..  &c.;  the  tempta- 
tions olfered  to  prisoners  to  escape,  while  the  imperfect  work  opens  many  enti- 
cing avenues  to  a  bold  spirit;  those  and  other  reasons,  continually  support  a  wiser 
and  broader  plan  of  future  operations.  But  it  is  not  that  money  is  wasted,  or  in- 
judiciously appropriated  in  doing  little  by  little,  and  multiplying  defects  upon 
what  originally  was  badly  devised.  It  is  not  merely  the  co>t,  confusion,  disar- 
rangement, and  finally,  the  insufliciency  of  the  work,  that  should  be  made  the  prom- 
inent consideration:  it  is  the  moral  well-being  of  the  convicts,  which  Benevo- 
lence, whose  hand-maid  is  long  sufiering  Charity;  Justice,  whose  best  attril)Utc 
is  Mercy;  Religion,  whose  heavenly  spirit  is  Love  to  God  and  all  mankind, 
commeijd  solemnly  to  your  care.  It  is  upon  your  deliberations,  upon  your  ac- 
tion, a  great  and  not-to-be-evaded  responsibility  rests.  It  is  as  you  reluse  to, 
or  provide  for,  your  convicts  in  the  Penitentiary,  the  means  of  improvement;  as 
yo\i  put  it  in  the  power  of  governing  otilcers,  or  withhold  facilities,  that  the  cor- 
rect discipline,  and  consequently  reformatory  influences  of  the  prison  depend. — 
As  you  neglect  this  prison,  you  become  accountable,  not  to  an  earthly,  but  to  an 
immutable  tn!)unal,  ibr  the  bad  consequences  wiiich  accompany  bad  arrange- 
ments and  wantcf  discipline.  As  you  study,  with  maidy  fidelity  and  wise  dis- 
cretion, its  real  good,  you  become  alil<c  benefactors  to  the  degraded  and  unfortu- 
nate, and  benefactors  to  youi  fellow-citizens  at  large. 

I  shall  comment  very  brietly  on  the  condition  of  the  prison  cells,  as  I  have'^ 
dwelt  at  lenglli  on  their  defective  construction.  They  are  not  furnished  with  per- 
manent bed-frames  of  iron,  clothed  with  sacking,  as  in  most  prisons;  but  the  sub- 
stitutes for  these,  as  also  the  beds  and  bedding,  are  not  in  a  tolerably  good  con- 
dition for  the  maintenance  of  health  and  cleanliness.  There  are  but  two  pri- 
sons in  the  United  States  which  arc  so  ba.lly  supplied,  and  so  comfortless  and 
disorderly,  as  this,  viz:  Indiana  old  prison,  and  that  of  Kentucky  at  Frankfort. 
I  do  njt  like  comparisons  of  this    sort;  but  sometimes   they  are  needed.     The 


lodgincf  cells  uf  the  Arkansas  prison,  this  year  destroyed  by  fire,  and  ihosc  of 
the  Missouri  prison  at  Jel'icrson  City,  were  in  all  respects  more  coin'ortal^k-  ;ind 
cleanly.  An  improvement  has  lately  been  made  in  llie  lodging  building  al  Al- 
ton, which  justice  to  the  ^Varden  re4uires  should  be  jncutioned.  Tiie  walls  have 
been  recently  whitewashed,  and  two  stoves  placed  in  the  damp  areas  to  secure  a 
i!iore  healthful  temperature.  I  believe  it  is  not  tlie  duty  oi"  the  Lessee  to  I  ur- 
nish  the  cells  in  the  first  instance. 

The  prison  building  which  incloses  the  cells,  requires  repairs;  the  gutters  and 
spouts  having  all  fallen  from  the  eaves,  and  during  rains  or  the  melting  of  snow, 
tlie  waters  wash  the  foundations  of  tlie  structure. 

The  eating  room  connected  with  the  prison,  is  in  many  respects  the  best  build- 
ing on  the  premises,  though  it  has  never  been  completed.  In  1838-'39,  the  In- 
spectors reported  that  there  was  "  no  suitable  room  for  the  convicts  in  which  to 
eat  their  meals;  the  Warden,  thereibre,  was  directed  to  put  up  sucii  a  building 
as  was  needed  for  that  use."  "A  building,  one  story  in  height,  18  feet  by  40, 
was  erected  and  finished  for  this  purpose."  For  this  and  other  repairs  not  spe- 
cified in  the  repoi't,  the  sum  of  Jp75  appears  on  the  bills. 
In  December,  1844,  the  Inspectors,  (another  Board,)  say  that  "the  eating  house 
and  kitchen  were  originally  built  in  the  most  temporary  manner,  and  also  had  be- 
come entirely  too  small  for  the  accommodation  of  the  convicts  ;  they  v»'ere  also 
built  of  the  most  combustible  materials,  and  placed  within  a  lew  feet  of  the  main 
buildings;  thus  constantly  endangering  the  existence  of  the  whole."  "We  have 
thought  that  the  safety  of  the  buildings,  and  the  comfort  of  the  convicts  demind- 
demanded  the  improvements  we  have  made."  "  The  new  building  is  oi'  stone, 
with  a  good  cellar  under  the  kitchen,  and  like  the  last,  is  as  permanent  as  the 
prison  itself.  The  aggregate  cost,  as  per  bills,  is  $1,485  88."  The  above  de- 
scribed building  is  100  feet  by  25.  Of  its  defects,  the  Inspectors  of  \hef,rescni 
season  speak  as  follows:  "  We  would  also  recommend  the  enlargement  of  the 
eating  room,  which,  of  necessity,  will  have  to  be  done  soon,  and  the  flooring  or 
flagging  of  the  whole  with  stone.  As  it  is  now,  it  is  muddy  and  disagreeable  in 
wet  weather,  and  cannot  be  washed  or  cleansed  in  dry  weather."  The  reason 
is  apparent:  there  has  never  been  any  floor  to  the  room,  other  than  the  ground  on 
which  the  prison  is  built.  But  there  is  another  deficiency  here,  not  mentioned 
by  the  Inspectors;  and  but  for  the  fact  that  their  attention  has  been  called  to  it, 
one  miglit  suppose  that  they  were  unccnscioi.s  that  it  existed  I  mean  the  want 
of  common  wooden  benches  upon  which  to  seat  the  convicts  while  they  eat. — 
The  Penitentiary  at  Alton  is  the  only  prison  in  the  United  States,  in  which  the  con- 
victs partake  their  meals  standing,  whether  separately  or  in  ct  mmon.  These  con- 
victs, as  is  their  duty,  labor  diligently  and  continually  during  the  hours  appointed, 
from  daylight  to  the  close  of  day.  No  intervals  of  suspended  actioii  arrive,  ex- 
cept in  cases  of  illness,  and  at  the  time  of  meals.  Is  it  reasonable  or  humane, 
nay  is  it  merciful,  or  is  it  even  good  policy,  to  require  the  tired  laborer,  after 
leaving  the  shops,  and  ascending  in  heat  or  cold,  through  storm  or  sunshine, 
amidst  rain  or  snow,  in  summer  and  winter,  that  toilsome  hill,  to  stand  while  he 
hastily  partakes  Ids  food,  and  then  returns  to  his  labor  till  darkness  gives  no- 
tice that  "  lock  up  hours  have  come."  The  Inspectors  say  they  have  no  author- 
i  ty  to  furnish  seats;  'he  Lessees  aflirm  that  they  are  under  no  obligation  to  do 
so.  Will  the  Legislature  decide  this  knotty  question,  and  cause  seats  to  be  iur- 
nished  at  once?  The  cost  must  be  a  mere  trille;  but  much  or  little,  I  conclude 
all  will  concede,  that,  for  the  sake  of  decency  and  humanity,  it  should  be  done, 
and  that  speedily. 

In  regard  to  discharged  convicts,  I  find  no  law  in  force,  providing  a  suit  of 
clothes,  and  a  sum  of  money  to  defray  the  first  certain  expenses  following  liber- 
ation, and  before  time  has  alibrded  opportunity  for  engaging  in  any  honest  labor. 


10 

It  is  true,  that,  at  the  solicitation  of  Wardens  and  Inspectors,  who  must  know 
the  necessilius  ol"  these  men,  there  has  been  from  lime  to  time  a  small  grant, 
when  expense  has  been  iir.>t  incurred,  on  the  responsibility  of  the  ollicers.  For 
example,  in  l8i^8-'39,  the  sum  of  ,$55  25  was  allowed  lor  15  convicts  who  had 
served  out  tlieir  time,  giving  an  average  of  $3  GH  for  clothing,  traveling  expen- 
ses and  sustenance.  In  1840-"41,  the  account  reads  as  I'ollows:  "Paid  money 
and  clothes  for  17  discharged  convicts,  who,  at  the  time  of  their  discharge,  were 
end  e'y  destitute,  and  whose  clothes  had  been  lost  or  mislaid  previous  to  the  lease, 
$107  00."  They  add:  "we  have  procured  the  cheapest  clothing  that  could  be 
purcluised;"  and  lurther,  "  we  have  supposed  that  we  could  not  be  justified  in 
turning  them  into  the  streets,  naked  or  pennyless;  thus  exposing  them  to  the 
strongest  temptation  to  commit  again  the  crime  for  which  most  of  them  were 
sent  here."  In  l842-'43,  !f'54  25  was  paid  to  discharged  convicts  who  were 
destitute;  and  for  clothes  lost  previous  to  lease,  .$38  75,  making  ."^593  in  two 
years.  The  whole  number  of  convicts  discharged  in  the  same  period,  was  99. 
See  Reports.  How  insufficient  for  their  first  pressing  necessities,  must  have 
been  the  aid  received.  In  1844,  the  Inspectors  again  urge  the  necessity  of 
granting  a  sufficient  sum  to  discharged  convicts,  to  relieve  present  wants;  and  add, 
that,  "  they  are  brought  to  the  Penitentiary  but  poorly  clad,  generally  without 
money  or  funds;  and  by  the  time  their  sentence  has  expired,  their  clothes,  such 
as  they  had,  though  preserved  with  as  much  care  as  possible,  are  ready  to  fall 
to  pieces  oi"  their  own  weight,  and  they  are  turned  out  into  the  street,  almost 
naked,  without  money,  and  certainly  not  having  received  any  moral  or  religious 
instruction  to  restrain  them,  and  are  in  a  fit  condition  to  fall  back  into  their  old 
habits.  Indeed  it  would  be  surprising  if  they  did  not  do  so."  See  Reports, 
1844.  The  Inspectors  of  the  jiresent  year  remark,  that,  "  for  humanity's 
sake,  a  small  amount  in  money  should  be  provided  by  law,  to  be  paid  to  discharg- 
ed prisoners,  as  well  as  a  suit  of  common  clothes.  It  seems,  (say  they,)  hard 
.to  confine  a  man  three  years  lor  theft,  and  then  turn  him  upon  the  world  without 
covering,  or  means  even  for  a  meal's  victuals;  thereby  forcing  him,  by  the  opera- 
tions of  law,  to  steal  again."  For  cash  paid  out  to  105  prisoners,  between  June 
22,  1842,  and  March  5,  1845,  $201  62. 

The  legal  allowance  to  discharged  convicts,  in  most  of  the  Penitentiaries  of 
the  United  States,  is  a  suit  of  gooc^  clothes,  and  a  sum  of  money  varying  from  $3 
to  $5;  in  some  cases  $10.  I  have  belbre  me  the  reports  of  many  States,  and 
find  this  rule  established  by  law;  and  it  seems  so  clearly  obligatory  upon  Govern- 
ment to  render  these  supplies,  that  all  argument  to  enforce  this  truth  is  superilu- 
ous.  In  New  York,  and  elsewhere,  it  is  thought  by  many,  connected  olKcially 
and  otherwise  with  the  prisons,  that  even  this  is  inadequate  to  meet  just  require- 
ments. 

I  have  heard  that  the  want  of  a  prison  for  women  convicts,  who  are  sentenced 
to  a  Penitentiary  life,  has  been  repeatedly  expressed.  At  present,  there  are  no 
women  convicts  in  the  prison  at  Alton  j  not  probably  because  there  are  none 
whose  olfences  subject  them  to  being  sent  there,  but  because  there  is  not  the 
smallest  provision  for  their  reception.  Moreover,  no  deceut  mid  approved  ar- 
ranf^ements  could,  under  any  circurnstances^  be  made  there,  for  that  class  of  trans- 
gressors.    The  objections  are  so  obvious,  that  all  exposition  is  needless. 

I  would  sucrgest  that  some  one  of  the  most  populous  counties  in  the  State, 
should  cause  to  be  established  a  County  house  of  Correction — Cook  county,  for 
example — where  idlers,  vagrants  and  pettv  ofienders,  should  be  sentenced  for  a 
term  of  months;  when,  for  men,  the  nature  of  the  offence  does  not  subject  them 
to  the  State  prison.  But  let  all  women  State  criminals  be  sent  thither,  and  such 
mutual  arrangements  agreed  on  between  the  County  and  State,  lor  the  expenses, 
employment,  and  control  of  the  same,  as  shall  be  satisfactory  and  just. 


11 


The  Hospital,  so  called,  is  reached  by  descending  a  flight  of  stairs  or  steps, 
from  without,  into  a  cellar,  situated  immediately  beneath  the  lamily  apartments 
of  the  resident  Lessee.  The  dimensions  of  this  dismal  place,  are  thirteen  leet 
fy  tuentyte^  and  ei.ht  feet  high.  On  the  9th  of  May  last,  I  ^mn^  -.  t  us 
wretched  den,  uncleansed,  unventilated,  utterly  comlortless,  several  sick  con- 
victs, one  very  low  of  contagious  erysipelas.  Since  then,  three  have  died 
here  of  this  disease;  .nd  though,  as  the  Lessee  writes  to  me  'it  has  been  he 
most  unhealthy  season  ever  known  in  the  prison,  we  have  got  along  mucli  better 
than  we  have  any  righi  to  expect,  with  the  poor  conveniences  we  have  for  taking  care  oj 
ihe  sick:'  In  rainy  weather  the  water  finds  way  irom  without,  flooding  the  floor 
of  this  dreary  room,  increasing  the  unhealthiness  of"  a  place  always  damp,  arid 
one  would  suppose,  while  examining  it,  inevitably  to  be  fatal  to  all  f  .""fortunate 
occupants.  These  occupants  are  prisoners,  convicted  of  crimes  which  ha^^  or 
a  time  banished  them  from  society;  but  it  was  made  no  part  of  their  sentence, 
this  cruel  condemnation  to  such  a  dungeon  during  the  days  and  weeks  ot  pain- 
ful sickness.  To  charge  the  Lessee  with  intentional  neglect  of  the  sick, 
would  be  unjust;  for  if  he  were  not  a  humane  man,  as  1  believe  him  to  be, 
his  pecuniary  interest  is  involved  in  employing  every  means  he  can  command  lor 
restoring  and  preserving  the  health  of  the  convicts,  and  rendering  their  situa- 
tion as  lUtle  irksome  outwardly  as  possible.  Men  rarely  become  spin  ua lly  bet- 
ter by  being  made  subject;  through  Aum«n  discipline,  to  extreme  bodily  discom- 
forts; these  convicts  are  not  made  morally  better  by  such  treatment  as  they  are 
subjected  to  here  in  ttie  days  of  bodily  weakness  and  pain. 

mt  I  do  not  express  any  exaggerated  opinions  of  this  Hospital  department,  is 
easily  shown  by  a  few  extracts  from  reports,  rendered  at  various  periods  to  the 

Legislature.  _  ,        io..      .  i.    ii    *     a. -a ^,.4 

The  Inspectors,  in  their  biennial  Report,  December,  1844  state  that,  '/?«/, 
they  would  strongly  recommend  a  Hospital  Department  lor  the  sick.  1  houf2;n, 
say  thev,  "the  mortalit^  has  not  at  any  lime  been  very  great,  yet  it  is  the  opin- 
ion of  the  phvsicians  who  have  been  in  attendance,  that  lives  are  somdime^  tost 
that  might  have  been  saved,  if  they  had  been  provided  with  the  ordmary  comjcrts  thai 
humanity  calls  for.  The  sick  are  now  obliged  to  be  confined  in  their  eel  s, 
which  are  scarcely  three  feet  six-twelfths,  by  six  and  a  half  or  seven,  and  badJy 
ventilated,  or  in  Abasement  story,  (the  cellar  so  called  at  the  prison,)  where  the 
nir  is  bad  at  best,  and  when  there  are  several  on  the  sick  list,  at  times  almost 
insupportable."  "The  convicts,  when  sick,  especially,  seem  entitled  at  least 
to  common  comforts  and  conveniencies,  not  only  from  motives  of  humanity,  but 
from  the  fact  that  they  not  only  defray  their  own  expenses,  but  pay  a  considera- 
ble sum  into  the  Treasury;"  and  it  might  have  been  added,  yield  a  liberal  income 

to  the  Lessees.  ,  .        ,  .     ,  .     .i       r  n 

The  newly  appointed  Inspectors  for  1845,  refer  to  this  subject  in  the  follow- 
in-  terras:  -  We  proceeded  to  visit  the  prison"—"  and  found  the  sick  better  than 
could  be  supposed  by  any  one  acquainted  with  the  location  of  \}ie  hospttal,  under 
ground  as  it  is,  without  air  or  light,  and  wet  every  time  v  rams!  A  memt)er 
of  the  Penitentiary  Committee,  makes  the  following  Report  in  February,  b4D. 
"  The  necessity  for  the  erection  of  a  Warden's  house,  is  of  no  small  importance 
to  the  State,  when,  by  having  the  hospital  of  the  Penitentiary  restored  to  its 
original  purpose,  instead  of  being  used  as  a  dwelling  house  for  the  UardeD, 
the'rebv  transferring  the  sick  from  an  under gr'  undroom,  which  is  at  present  Irom 
necessity  used  for  that  purpose,  and  which,  from  the  report  of  the  attending  phy- 
sician, "  is  well  calculated  to  terminate  the  life  of  any  one  who  may  be  compeUtd 
to  remain  there  for  any  considerable  length  of  time,  rather  than  to  rest.^re  tlicm  to 
health."  To  me  it  does  not  appear  that  the  building,  in  which  tiie  Lessee  re- 
sides, is  suitably  situated  for  a  Hospital;^  neither  is  it  properly  constructed  so 
as  to  answer  the  purposes  of  an  infirmary  in  a  prison. 


12 

But  it  seems  supcrlluous  lo  aJd  arguments  to  statements  so  explicit  and  urgent 
as  the  preceding',  and  I  leave  this  subject  with  those  who  are  fully  authorized  to 
redres.-i,  and  thut  speedily,  sinli  au  injurious  and  negligent  course  of  treatment 
on  the  part  of  the  State  towards  the  helpless  convicts.  Submission  is  their  du- 
ttj;  obedience  their  neccssiiij;  while  merciful  and  humane  treatment  is  their  un- 
tfUrstionable  right. 

I\Ioral  and  religious  instruction  for  the  convicts  at  Alton,  has,  with  slight  ex- 
ceptions, been  singiilarly  overlooked  by  successive  Legislatures;  and  of  course 
usually  disreg-arded  by  the  Inspectors,  and  still  less  appreciated  by  Wardens  and 
Lessees.  An  honorable  exception,  during  the  adrr!ini>tration  of  prison  aflairs  1)y 
Mr.  J.  K.  AVoods,  is  on  record:  and  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  attention  ol"  the 
Legislature  was  so  far  awakened,  that  we  find  in  "the  Laws  of  Illinois,  183.S-'39 
— Act  on  page  278;  sec.  10,  the  following  passage  :  the  Inspectors  are  autho- 
rized lo  furnish,  at  the  expense  of  the  State,  a  copy  of  the  Eible  to  each  convict 
who  is  able  and  willing  to  read  the  same."  In  the  Revis-ed  Statutes,  18-15,  chap. 
Lxxxi — pe.  406 — sec.  12,  the  same  is  recorded.  Kxcept  in  ihe  lines  above 
quoted,  1  can  discover  no  record,  nor  can  I  ascertain  through  verbal  inquiry, 
that  this  subject  has  ever  received  the  slightest  cjnsidtration  in  the  asseniLHes 
of  the  Legislature,  Very  few  Bibles  have  ever,  at  any  period,  been  supjiliedat 
the  cost  of  the  State  or  otherwise.  The  committee,  directed  by  the  Lcgi.--lature, 
January,  1S39,  to  visit  the  Penitentiary,  and  report  its  condition,  state  that  ihey 
found  tiie  convicts  very  inddferently  supplied  with  Bibles  and  other  books  ne- 
cessary for  their  moral  instruction:  there  have  been  no  means  employed  to  in- 
sure regular  preaching  on  ihe  Sabbath,  &c.  (See  Reports,  1838-'.'i9 — Pnge  18. 
The  Inspectors  report,  December,  1840,  an  expenditure  of  "  .';;4l  75  cts.  for  75 
Bibles."  Some  few  of  these,  it  is  believed,  were  distributed;  a  part  were  stor- 
ed away,  and  forgotten  until  recently. 

All  reasoning  minds,  whether  religiously  disposed  or  not,  will  admit  the  fact, 
thit  convicts  are  not  sentenced  to  the  Penitentiarj-  through  a  spirit  of  revenge,  on 
the  part  of  society,  nor  yet  for  punishment  merel)'.  If  this  were  the  case,  one 
would  say  that  imprisonment  should  reach  through  the  term  of  their  natural 
lives;  since,  if  Reformation  is  not  the  paramount  object,  public  security  is  great- 
ly more  endangered  by  the  discharge  of  these  bad  men  from  prison,  than  it  would 
have  been  before  they  were  subjects  of  the  indurating  influences  of  association 
for  years,  with  the  assembled  criminals  of  the  land,  indulged  in  vicious  conver- 
sations, and  cut  oif  from  all  the  aids  wliich  are  employed  to  strengthen  the  weak 
roinled,  and  restore  the  fallen. 

It  is  due  to  Mr.  ^Voods  to  refer  explicitly  to  exertions  on  his  part  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  prisoners  at  Alton.  I  quote  at  length  from  his  report: — See  "Reports 
of  session  1838-'39."  "Believing  it  to  have  been  the  paramount  object  of  those 
benefactors  of  our  race  who  Ibunded  the  penitentiary  system,  to  punnish  the 
criminal  by  a  mere  deprivation  of  liberty  alone,  and  to  reform  him  by  the  in- 
fluence of  means  that  could  be  used  with  advantage  in  such  a  situation  only,  I 
have  deemed  it  a  duty  to  afford  the  convicts  every  facility  which  lay  in  my  pow- 
er, to  receive  moral  and  religious  instruction,  and  accordingly  solicited  the  ser- 
vices of  a  number  of  the  clergy  in  this  neighborl.ood,  and  which  I  am  happy  to 
say  have  been  cheerfully  rendered,  and  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  bene- 
ficial to  the  prisoners  generally.  A  sabbath  school  was  also  commenced 
in  the  autumn  of  1837,  and  with  some  few  intermissions,  has  been  regularly 
su^tained;  and  the  result  has  been,  that,  of  seven  w-ho  wereignorant  of  the  alpha- 
bet, four  were  tolerable  readers  when  I  discharged  them,  and  the  remaining  three 
real  in  (he  spelling-book.  "The  Methodist  Book  concern,"  in  Alton,  have  made 
a  donation  of  twelve  Bibles,  and  the  clergy  of  that  denoinination  have  manifested 
a  very  laudable  interest  in  behalf  of  the  prisoners.     The    other  books   and  pa- 


13 

pers  used  by  the  convicts,  with  the  exception  of  the  Temperance  Herald,  ten 
copies  of  which  are  circulated  monthly  amongst  them,  have  been  taken  from  my 
own  library.  If  a  variety  of  moral  and  religious  books  were  kept  lor  the  use 
of  the  convicts,  it  would  evidently  add  to  their  comfort,  and  contribute  greatly 
towards  preparing  them  lor  usefulness  in  society  when  discharged. 

Further,  Mr.  Woods  remarks: — "Of  the  fifteen  discharged  since  I  have  had 
chariic  of  the  prison,  one  is  in  business  with  his  father  in  Kentucky,  four  arc  at 
work  in  the  vicinity  of  this  city;  and  these  live  maintain  a  correct  moral  deport- 
ment. The  others  I  have  not  heard  from.  In  Dr.  Hart's  report,  it  is  sliown 
that  Mr.  Woods'  discipline  has  been  thorough  and  effective;  and  this  is  satisiac- 
torily  shown  by  the  quiet,  industrious,  and  obedient  demeanor  of  the  convicts." 

The  Inspectors,  iu  their  report  for  1844-'45,  suggest  that  "some  provision 
should  be  made  for  tlie  moral  and  religious  instruction  of  the  convicts.  The 
very  object  and  intent  of  peniteniiarjj  punishment,  as  the  term  implies,  is  refor- 
mation; and  yet  nothing  is  done  to  bring  about  so  desirable  a  result.  This  has 
been  attended  to,  we  believe,  in  almost,  if  not  every  penitentiary  in  the  Union, 
and  its  neglect  is  matter  of  reproach  against  that  of  Illinois.  The  convicts 
work  during  the  week,  and  are  shut  up  on  Saturday  night,  where  they  remain 
till  Monday  mon  ing,  without  a  single  word  of  encouragement  irom  any  one 
who  seems  to  take  an  interest  in  their  welfare,  to  induce  them  to  change  the 
course  of  life  which  has  brought  tiiem  into  their  present  condition.  A  building 
might  be  erected  at  a  moderate  expense,  which  would  answer  the  purpose  of  a 
shop,  with  a  second  story  which  might  be  fitted  for  a  chapel,  and  a  chaplain  ap- 
pointed with  a  sufficient  compensation,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  have  reli- 
gious services,  at  least  once  on  every  Sabbath,  and  to  administer  to  the  sick  and 
dying  the  consolations  appropriate  to  their  condition.-'  I  regret  that  the  sen- 
timents embodied  in  the  paragraph  I  must  next  quote,  are  not  in  harmony  with  the 
just  and  manly  as  well  as  excellent  suggestions  above  quoted. 

The  Inspectors,  in  their  concise  report  to  the  Legislature  the  present  session, 
express  themselves  as  follows.  I  forbear  comment  upon  the  propriety  or  obvi- 
ous interpretation  of  the  same,  only  observing  that,  however  the  Inspectors  are 
adverse  to  convict  instruction,  the  citizens  at  large  are  not  indifferent  on  this 
subject: 

"We  have  received  some  communications  relative  to  the  establishment  of  a 
chapel,  with  requests  that  we  make  tjie  mention  of  them  a  part  of  this  report.  If 
it  should  be  thought  proper  by  the  Legislature  to  erect  a  chapel,  and  establish 
the  institution  of  preaching  on  the  Sabbath,  or  any  other  day  in  the  week,  we 
would  recommend  that  thetime  be  left  entirely  to  the  Warden,  as  he  would  be 
the  only  person  competent  to  judge  in  case  of  insurrection  or  any  other  distur- 
bances, whether  it  would  be  sale  to  release  the  prisoners  from  their  cells.  But 
our  opinion  is,  that  if  those  people's  efforts  had  the  desired  effect  in  the  covwiu- 
niiy  at  large,  there  would  not  be  any,  at  least  not  so  many,  to  preach  to  in  the 
penitentiary.  And  no  man  except  an  officer  of  the  prison,  or  some  other  person 
well  known,  should  be  permitted  to  have  private  conversations  with  the  con- 
victs.    It  is  much  easier  to  make  bad  worse  than  good  better." 

ROBERT  DUNLAP, 
THOMAS  CLIFFORD, 
JOHN  A.  MAX  FA', 
Penitentiary  Inspectors,  State  of  Illinois. 
See  House  Document^  referred,  DecemLer  14th,  184G,  and  300  cojnes  ordered  to 
be  printed. 

.  The  above  paragraphs,  gentlemen,  embrace  the  whole  evidence  I  have  been 
able,  after  diligent  investigation,  to  search  out  respecting  the  slightest  official  in- 
terest or  provision  for  the  instruction  of  the  State  prisoners  of  Illinois.  Remotely 


14 

fro:n  time  to  time,  clergymen  have  volunteered  a  service,  and  though  not  always 
refused,  they  liave  received  but  little  encouragement  to  repeat  tlieir  benevolent 
labors.  Latterly,  bibles  and  tracts  have  been  distributed:  especially  has  this 
been  done  through  the  agency  of  Rev.  Mr.  Williams,  of  Alton.  A  visitor  of 
prisons  purchased  the  last  summer,  for  the  use  of  the  convicts,  a  quantity  and 
variety  of  books  as  a  foundation  for  a  permanent  library,  which  it  is  hoped  and 
believed  that  the  Legislature  in  the  exercise  of  their  rights,  in  fulfilling  the  ob- 
vious and  just  obligations,  of  all  the  citizens,  will,  from  session  to  session,  make 
sufficient  appropriations  to  sustain  and  enlarge.  The  books  supplied  the  last 
summer,  are  called  for  with  interest  and  used  with  manifest  advantage,  according 
to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Pierson,  the  Clerk,  and  other  jjcrsons  who  interest 
themselves  in  the  distribution  of  the  books.  I  ibund  these  on  my  last  visit  used 
witli  as  much  care,  and  as  well  kept  by  the  prisoners,  as  their  circumstances, 
and  situation  seemed  to  permit.  I  have  heard  casually  and  recently,  that  a  gift 
of  books  from  a  distant  prison  has  been  made  through  Mr.  Williams,  and  also 
that  a  set  of  "the  Children's  Sunday  School  Library  has  been  sent  by  an  agent  of 
the  Sunday  School  Society." — Books  are  important  aids,  when  suitably  chosen, 
in  awakening  the  higher  faculties,  and  kindling  desires  for  that  which  is  wiser 
and  better  in  life  than  has  heretofore  been  attained  and  practised;  but  these  helps 
are  insulficient.  The  counsels  of  a  benevolent  and  religious  man,  who,  to  heart- 
felt interest  in  the  work,  joins  that  aid  and  skill  in  conveying  instruction,  at 
right  times,  and  in  the  right  way;  one  who  possesses  both  discrimination  and 
firmness,  gentleness  and  sympathy;  who  day  by  day  should  pass  among  the 
prisoners,  urging  by  "line  upon  line,  and  precept  upon  precept,"  the  duty  and 
happiness  of  a  good  life;  such  a  man  should  be  sovight  after  and  established  at 
the  prison,  supported  in  his  vocation  by  the  State,  and  allowed  all  facilities  for 
conveying  needed  instruction  both  on  Sunday  and  every  day  in  the  week.  To 
him  should  the  prisoner  look  as  his  spiritual  guide  and  hel])er: — to  him  the  sick 
look  for  the  counsels  and  consolations  their  deplorable  condition  claims;  through 
this  teacher  should  the  convict  learn  to  experience  that  the  State,  that  society, 
do  not  abandon  him  to  misery  and  perdition;  but  that  they  aim,  through  all  the 
discipline  to  which  he  is  made  subject,  to  restore  hira  to  liberty,  a  wiser,  happi- 
er, and  better  man. 

I  urge  the  appointment  of  a  moral  and  religious  instructor,  not  because  most 
other  States  offer  the  example,  led  earlier  to  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  recreant,  but 
because  it  is  right.  I  cannot  better  conclude  this  subject,  upon  which  I  earnest- 
ly hope  you  will  take  early  action,  and  so  direct  your  deliberations  that  substan- 
stial  benefits  shall  reach  the  convicts,  than  by  referring  to  a  communication  laid 
before  your  honorable  body  early  in  the  session,  and  which,  in  a  manly  and 
christian  spirit,  advocates  the  claims  of  the  prisoner.  "The  Synod  of  Illinois, 
composed  of  one  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  convened  in  Springfield, 
on  the  Sth  of  October,  1846,  feeling  their  responsibility  as  ministers  of  religion 
and  advocates  ofgood  morals  in  the  community,  would  present  to  your  honora- 
ble body,  the  condition  of  the  convicts  in  the  Penitentiary  of  our  State. 

"It  has  seemed  to  us  an  unfortunate  oversight,  that  an  institution  denominated 
a"Pen/7cn/w.rv,"  should  be  entirely  destitute  of  the  means  of  repentance  and  re- 
formation. We,  therefore,  request  you  to  take  the  subject  under  consideration, 
and  by  legislative  enactments  provide  accommodations,  by  which  the  convicts 
may  be  assembled  for  christian  instruction,  especially  on  the  Sabbath,  and  such 
oi/ur  arrangements  as  may  be  necessary  to  afTord  opportunity  and  facility  to  va- 
rious denominations  of  christians  who  may  be  willing  to  give  that  instruction. 
And  for  your  prosperity  and  that  of  our  common  country,  we  feel  bound  ever  to 
pray." 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  briefly  to  recapitulate  the  most  prominent  defects, 
wants  and  usages  of  the  Penitentiary: 


15 

1st.  The  inclosed  area,  one  acre  ami  five  sixths,  covering  the  declivity  of  a 
hill  is  too  confined:  the  walls  of  the  Michigan  penitentiary,  inclose  an  area  of 
66b*  feet  by  524,  and  the  Kentucky  prison,  at  present  embraces  more  than  three 

acres  and  a  half, 

2d.   The  wails  are  defective,  and  require  rebuilding  rather  than  repairing. 
3d.  The  cooper-shops  are  defective  over  head  and  under  foot,  and  rest  against 
the  inclosing  wall. 
4th.  The  ojfice  is  small  and  inconvenient. 

5th.  The  stable,  the   tailor,   waggon,  and  smith  shops,  are  temporary   frame 
buildings,  exposed  to  conflagration,  and  requiring  repairs. 
6th.  The  warden   or  lessee  has  no  suitable  house. 

7th.  Tlie  hemp-factory  needs  to  be  restored,  having  recently  been  partially 
destroyed  by  fire.* 

8th.  The  Eafing  room,  which  has  never  heen  floored,  is  too  small,  it  is  said, 
and  has  never  been  furnished  with  any  description  of  seats  for  the  convicts 
while  taking  their  meals. 

9th.  The  Lodging  prison,  is  out  of  repair,  and  contains  less  than  55,  fewer 
liaished  cells  than  there  were  convicts  in  December. 

10th.  A  new  Guurd  room  will  be  required,  if  the  Warden's  house,  as  is  pro- 
posed, is  built  where  the  guard  room  now  stands,  and  if  the  present  residence 
is  converted  into  a  Hospital. 

11th.  The  Hospital  is  a  damp,  unventilated  cellar  ! 

12th.  There  is  no  Chapel,  neither  any  furnished  room  which  might  temporari- 
ly supply  the  place  oi  one. 

13th.  There  is  no  Chaplain,  or  moral  and  religious  instructor. 
14th.  The  law  makes  no  provision  for  the  destitute  discharged  convicts. 
15th.  I  cannot  learn  that  there  have  been  in  use  at  anytime  any  authorized  by- 
laws, emanating  from  the  Legislature,  as  in  all  well  organized  prisons,  setting 
forth,  in  explicit  terms,  the  duties  and  obligations  of  all  officers,  and  other  per- 
sons employed  in  the  prisons,  towards  the  convicts;  and  also  declaring  to  the 
convict  his  duties  and  obligations,  to  those  'vho  have  authority  to  control  his 
whole  outward  life  while  lie  is  subject  to  a  prison. f 

16th.  I  could  not  learn  that  any  records  of  the  prison  were  required  to  be  made 
and  preserved  for  the  use  of  the  State,  setting  forth  its  history,  discipline,  the  num- 
ber of  convicts,  and  all  important  facts  connected  with  the  prison  life;  the  punish- 
ments to  which  they  are  amenable;  tlie  number  of  individuals  corrected;  the 
kind  and  amount  ot  punishment,  together  with  a  statement  of  the  offence,  and  a 
clear  specification  of  the  rules  which  had  been  broken.  A  small  waste-book  is 
kept,  wherein  are  entered  the  names,  ages,  terms  of  sentence,  &c. 

17th.  I  could  find  no  books  of  record  belonging  to  the  prison,  or  to  the  State, 
showing  the  number  of  prisoners  disabled  by  sickness;  the    number  which  had 


•It  is  to  be  rpjretted  that  the  manufacture  of  hemp  has  ever  been  introduced,  than  which 
for  the  eyes  atid  lungs  a  more  injurious  employment  could  not  have  been  adopted;  and  at  the 
State  Penitentiary  I  am  clearly  satisfied  that  it  is  as  unnecessary  as  it  is  injurious. 

t  I  have  a  copy  of  twelve  printed  rules,  on  a  sheet  of  paper  written  by  Mr.  Buckmaster, 
referring  to  minor  duties  in  general,  for  his  own  convenience  in  directing  Some  mechanical 
daily  movements.  They  are  well  devised,  and  some  of  them  no  doubt  useful:  yet  he  and 
his  officers  admit  that  the  2d  and  the  lOthiules  relating  to  personal  conversations  between 
the  convicts  in  the  cells,  in  the  shops,  and  elsewhere,  are  constantly  trangressed,  and  with 
impunity  It  would  be  strange  enough,  with  all  the  various  hourly  opportunities  they  pos- 
sess both  day  and  night,  if  they  did  not  hold  the  most  unreserved  comnjunic.ition.  It  can  be 
and  it  is  most  largely  indulged  in,  in  the  hospital,  the  tailor  Eh»p,  and  that  of  the  shoe- 
makers; in  the  kitchen,  and  in  the  cells;  and  if  they  are  not  always  boisterous,  profane 
and  vicious  in  these  hours  of  intercourse,  why  should  they  not  be  with  two  in  many  of 
the  cells;  cells  adjacent,  &c.?  and  who  is  accountable  for  this?  the  lessee?  I  think  not,  un- 
der present  circumstances. 


16 

been  prescribed  for;  Die  number  which  had  died, nor  the  lustory  orname  of  the 
disease;  yet  tliis  is  done  in  nearly  every  prison  in  the  Union.  I  know  in  fact  of 
but  two  exceptions,  and  these  by  no  means  lionorable  examples. 

ISlh.  No  reports  are  required  oi' ihc  p/nj^ician  to  the  Leccislature,  nor  of  the 
lessee,  under  the  system  of  leasing,  which  has  in  Illinois,  superseded  the  more 
correct  and  just  system  of  governing  through  State  officers,  as  wardens,  See. 
There  seems  no  longer  to  be  accountability  nor  responsibility;  the  State,  through 
the  Legislature,  having  sold  all  the  convicts  which" are,  and  are  to  be,  for  a  tenn 
of  years,  appears  in  effect  to  have  abandoned  them,  regardless  only  of  one  thing; 
the  productive  rents  arising  from  their  labors;  whether  they  have  just  and  hu- 
mane treatment,  live  or  die,  are  reformed  or  lost  to  all  in  this  world  that  is  cor- 
rect, and  to  all  in  the  eteranal  world  that  is  hopeful,  seems  to  have  been  over- 
looked—/orijo/Zm.'  The  lessee  may  do  his  duty  in  its  broadest  extent;  the  sub- 
ordinate oliicers  imij  all  be  patterns  of  a  correct  and  exemplary  liJe; — the  phy- 
sician 7)i<iij  fulfil  all  the  responsible  obligations  whicli  are  associated  with  the  hu- 
mane care  of  the  sick;  the  inspectors  may  be  men  of  honor,  trust,  and  high  moral 
and  religious  worth  in  the  community — svpponng  all  this,  and  that  they  all 
alike  reverence  the  law  of  right, — and  aim  higher  even  than  the  mere  letter  of  a 
series  of  rules  prescribed  for  daily  practice  would  instruct, — is  it  still  of  no 
consequence  to  the  State  to  know  of,  and  to  preserve  the  record  of  these  cor- 
rect proceedings  from  year  to  year? 

UUh.  The  di'd  oi'  the  prisoners,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  is  sufficient  and 
wholesome;  it  is  of  course  very  plain,  as  it  should  be;  but  all  the  meats  and 
bread-stulfs  which  I  have  seen,  have  been  good.  Of  the  method  and  frequency 
of  supplying  vegetables,  I  am  not  fully  informed.  Three  meals,  I  was  told,  are 
allowed  daily,  except  on  Sunday,  when  but  two  are  given.  Tlie  warden,  Mr. 
Buckmaster,  can  be  trusted,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt,  in  managing  this  depart- 
ment; but  I  do  not  conceive  that  it  is  at  all  the  less  necessary  that  the  inspectors 
should  report  upon  tliis  subject  to  the  Legislature,  recording  clearly  and  briefly 
a  diet  table. 

20th.  The  clothing  of  the  convicts  seemed  in  about  ilie  same  condition  as  to 
cleanliness  and  comfort,  as  that  worn  in  the  prisons  of  Missouri,  Arkansas  and 
Indiana.  The  prisoners  in  the  prisons  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Mich- 
igan, and  Ohio,  employed  at  like  occupations,  make  a  much  more  respectable 
appearance  at  all  times,  whether  on  working  days  or  rest-days,  than  these  at 
Alton.  I  do  not  know  that  the  convicts  at  Alton  are  not  sufficiently  warm  in  the 
garments  supplied.     I  did  not  inquire. 

L'lst.  For  ia/Ami,'-,  no  arragements  have  ever  at  any  period  been  made  at  this 
prison;  nor  have  there  been  supplied  any  sufficient  means  for  preserving  even  a 
tolerable  personal  cleanliness.  The  convicts  may  wash  face  and  hands  in  little 
tubs  or  buckets  in  the  shops,  if  they  wish. 

22d.  The  area  is  out  of  order,  cumbered  with  materials  for  cooperage,  &c.  and 
located  on  a  hill  oide;  it  is  neither  graded  nor  McAdmized. 

The  Inspectors  report,  there  are  no  books,  records,  or  papers  of  any  value  what- 
ever belonging  to  the  Statel  P^or  this  deficiency,  I  presume  the  lessees  are  not 
accountable. 

I  have,  gentlemen,  in  this  communication,  endeavored  to  represent,  clearly  and 
irrrMti-illy,  the  wants  and  defects  ol' the  State  Penitentiary;  in  tlie  hope  that 
d  ing  under  a  full  knowledge  of  circumstances,  you  would  not  authorize  any 
act's  at  this  time,  which  would  fetter  the  future:  and  if  now  you  cannot  commence 
a  ■:'  prison,  on  an  approved  plan,  and  under  a  correct  system,  you  will  not  per- 
1  i'l  tvis-Militures  upon  that  now    occupied,   as  will   assure  and  perpetuate 

Respectfully  submitted. 
.  .  rii^gfiehl,  Februanj,  1847.  D.  L.  DIX. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 
36S064M  COai 

MESflORIAL  OF  MISS  D   L   DIX.  IN  RELATION 


3  0112  025304012 


